Zambia: Floods 26 March, 2009

DREF operation n° MDRZM006 GLIDE n° FL-2009-000068-ZMB Zambia: Floods 26 March, 2009 The International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross and Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation’s disaster response system and increases the ability of national societies to respond to disasters. CHF 132,288 (USD 117,526 or EUR 86,451) has been allocated from the International Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS) in delivering immediate assistance to some 1,000 households (approximately 6,000 beneficiaries). Unearmarked funds to repay DREF are encouraged. Summary: Widespread flooding has occurred in the Western Province of Flooding in Mantongo Village, Mongu Zambia; mainly affecting districts in the Zambezi River Basin and close to a thousand families have been displaced. According to the Regional Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, flooding has caused significant damage to crops in the field, infrastructure such as road networks, schools, clinics and community centres. The report on the crop loss revealed that 65 per cent of upland crops and 80 per cent of crops in flood plains and swamps have been lost in seven of the nine districts in the province. The weather forecasts indicate heavy rains in some parts of the country; this will inadvertently lead to more flooding in the areas downstream of the major rivers. Rapid assessments jointly undertaken by the Government and ZRCS indicate an urgent need for temporal shelter, clean water and the storage, food and non-food items (NFIs) such as insecticide treatment nets (ITNs), blankets, kitchen sets, etc. The emergency/relief phase of this operation is expected to be implemented over a period of two months covering March and April 2009. The operation will be completed by mid May 2009; a Final Report will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by August 2009). <click here for the DREF budget (if available), here for contact details, or here to view the map of the affected area> The situation Floods are the most common hydro-related hazards in Zambia, usually caused by riverbanks bursting due to consistent and intensive rainfall. The government has estimated that the current floods will affect approximately 460,000 people in 31 districts floods. The authorities also predict that the flooding will be caused by riverbanks bursting and the discharge of water from the Kariba and Itezi dams; meaning that in addition to the flooded Zambezi River basin in Western Province upstream, the Kafue River flats downstream and the confluence of the three major rivers i.e. the Zambezi, Luangwa and Kafue in Luangwa districts are likely to flood in a few weeks time.1 Shangombo district in the Western Province has been completely cut off as the major access road is severely damaged. Approximately a thousand people have been displaced, although only 400 people have been sheltered in temporal structures. The majority have not been evacuated and are stuck in makeshift shelters that are still afloat along parts of the main access road. Mongu, Kalabo, Lukulu, and Senanga districts are also flooded and are still inaccessible to the assessment team. However, aerial assessment conducted from a helicopter, observed that the patterns of destruction are similar to the other accessible districts already assessed. That is, the ZRCS assessment team indentified houses, water points, clinics, schools completely surrounded by water. Also observed were parts of the access roads still afloat where some displaced families have temporarily settled. The ZRCS rapid assessment carried out in Mongu district between 19 and 21 March 2009 revealed that a number of schools have been closed due to inaccessibility, infrastructure inundation and fear of water- borne disease outbreaks. A clinic in the Lea Lui area of Mongu has also been closed as it is completely submerged in water. The rapid assessment also revealed that in some places the entire villages have been submerged and the inhabitants have made temporal shelters along the points of the Kalabo Mongu Road that are still afloat. A submerged water point at Lea Lui School Interviews with the affected people revealed that they lost all their harvest and crops in the fields and are faced with a critical food shortage. In addition, the families are insecure from wild animals sharing the limited dry areas. Waste disposal facilities are very limited such that families are disposing into flood waters, thus creating a very volatile environmental hazard. Coordination and partnerships The ZRCS will coordinate its relief activities with other partners through the Inter Agency Standing Committee using a sectoral approach as detailed in the 2008/9 UN Inter Agency contingency plans. The rapid assessment findings were correlated to assertions made in the UN Inter Agency contingency plan (of which ZRCS is a partner) of the expected pattern and impacts of flooding in 2008/9 season. The assertions have been found to be largely accurate, and the plan of action for this relief operation seeks to cover the identified gaps. The disaster management department of the ZRCS will be coordinating the implementation of its activities at the branch level. At the implementation level, the district disaster management committees (DDMCs) will work through its satellite committees in providing assistance to the affected people. The local ZRCS volunteers works closely with the satellite committees in delivering relief assistance. 1 UN Inter Agency Floods Contingency Plan 2008/9 The ZRCS will be supported and guided by the disaster management department at the IFRC Southern Africa Zone Office (SAZO). The branch structures have been enhanced in capacity through in-country presence of an organisational development and water and sanitation IFRC delegates. The IFRC is well positioned to deploy additional technical support at the request of the National Society. Red Cross and Red Crescent action The International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent has released emergency funding to support ZRCS respond to the immediate needs of families displaced by flooding. Immediately, ZRCS commissioned a rapid assessment followed by mobilising volunteers to assist with evacuations, beneficiary registration and relief distribution. The local branch also participated in the assessments conducted in the province. The relief items were distributed from the pre-positioned stock, which includes 7,000 tarpaulins, 500 shelter kits and jerry cans, 1,000 treated mosquito nets, 70,000 water makers, 4,000 bars of laundry soap and 100 kitchen sets. The needs Beneficiary selection: The target beneficiaries of the operation are families displaced by the floods in seven affected districts in the Zambezi River basin. The beneficiaries will be selected based on the needs by a joint team of the DDMC and the local ZRCS branch. Immediate needs The influx of people from the Zambezi River basin has created an increasing need for emergency shelter, sanitation, clean and safe water. ZRCS has indentified the current needs for about 1,000 households, although this number is expected to rise as flooding continues. Although it is clear from assessments by both ZRCS and the Government Vulnerability and Assessment Committee (VAC) that the current food shortages are mainly due to chronic food insecurity than damage by floods; the floods have eroded opportunities for traditional coping mechanisms by making it impossible for people to collect water lilies and catch fish; food normally used to cope during lean months. As a result, there is need for food aid for at least two months for the 1,000 households. The food aid should be immediately followed by the provision of seeds to promote early recovery, since the floods have damaged both harvested food and seed stocks. The distribution of supplies to affected households will in collaboration with the DDMCs in order to optimize the use of resources and eliminate the possibility of duplication of efforts. Distribution by boat will reach affected people that have resettled on islands and roads within the flooded plains. Although this is an expensive exercise, it is justifiable considering indications that the government does not have the capacity to evacuate these people to the main lands. Medium/long-term needs The rehabilitation of boreholes and protected wells, and treatment of underground water, is envisaged to address the damage to water points and the contamination of water sources particularly at community utility facilities, including schools and clinics. An in-depth assessment planned for the end of April will provide a tally of such infrastructure and their locations. The government may need to consider permanently resettling some of the affected households, as was the case in Kazungula district after the 2006/7 floods. However, it may be difficult in the Western Province where people traditionally have coping mechanisms for “normal flooding.” The 2008/9 floods have only adversely affected them people because water levels have been unprecedentedly higher. The proposed operation The operation by the ZRCS will address the following priority sectors: emergency shelter, food and basic non-food items, emergency water and sanitation, and logistics. Government and the Road Development Agency, in partnership with the Military Force personnel, will address other immediate needs including building temporal bridges to reconnect the isolated districts (Shangombo and Chirundu) and airlifting food and medical supplies to inaccessible areas. Relief distributions (food and basic non-food items) Objective: 1,000 flood-affected households are provided with appropriate food and non-food relief items over two months. Distributions are carried out according to assessments and selection criteria that identify actual needs and vulnerable groups, as per the registration protocol that ensures control, monitoring and recording movement of goods.

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